Pletcher duo heads Excelsior at the Big A

By NY Hot List Staff | Friday, April 1, 2022

This week older horses. Next week 3-year-olds. Mile-and-an-eighth stakes will highlight the upcoming Saturday cards at Aqueduct with the Excelsior Stakes for 4-year-olds and up at nine furlongs. The race only drew five entrants with a pair of uncoupled runners from trainer Todd Pletcher, Untreated and First Constitution, as the standouts. For next week, the April 9 card will feature the 1 1/8-mile Wood Memorial (G2), one of the year’s top preps for the Kentucky Derby.

Here’s the Hot List picks for the Excelsior Stakes:

The $150,000 Excelsior, Aqueduct, Saturday, Race 8.

(3) First Constitution got his first victory in January in the Jazil at Aqueduct since coming to America from Chile where he was a Group 1 winner. It was the best performance of his career and it produced a front-end victory by more than six lengths and earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure. (2) Untreated won a pair of allowance races early in the winter at the Big A and then tried much tougher handicap horses in the Mineshaft (G3) at Fair Grounds. This Excelsior field should be right in Untreated’s comfort zone. (5) Forewarned travels around the Mid-Atlantic region looking for winning spots for trainer Uriah St. Lewis and did so back in December at Aqueduct in the Queens County. He rallied from behind to win the nine-furlong stake by a little more than a length. (1) Splicethemainbrace ships up from Parx for the first time after running third in a stake there last month. He prefers to press the pace. so he should challenge the top choice early on.

The rest of the NY Hot List picks and the Special Saturday Pick 3 are available free of charge at this website.